SEE IT: Creepy Items Seized From Club Q Massacre Suspect’s Home
Accused Club Q mass shooter Anderson Aldrich hung out at the popular Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightspot weeks before it was turned into a gruesome mass murder scene, according to numerous court exhibits released Thursday.
The exhibits were released a day after prosecutors and defense attorneys referred to them in a preliminary hearing for 22-year-old Aldrich, who faces 323 criminal charges over the shocking attack, including first-degree murder and bias-motivated crimes. A slew of new details emerged in Wednesday’s hearing, including that Aldrich visited Club Q several times before the November massacre, that Aldrich had planned to livestream the massacre, and that Aldrich expressed neo-Nazi, homophobic and racist views online and to friends.
Aldrich pictured at Club Q in the weeks before the massacre.
Aldrich, whose lawyer says identifies as non-binary, also had rainbow-patterned gun targets at home, which were among several items seized by police after five people died and dozens more were injured during the Nov. 19 shooting.
Cops also found a handwritten note at the home Aldrich shares with their mom, reading, “Please relieve me of my own fate, I’m drowning in my own wake. How long must I wait for you to rid me of this hate?” Additionally, investigators recovered a hand-drawn map of Club Q, as well as a hardcover book titled Rebuilding the Reichstag.
Cops said they also found gun parts, camouflage apparel, and tactical gear at Aldrich’s residence.
In exhibits submitted by Aldrich’s defense team, Aldrich is pictured visiting Club Q several times prior to the attack, including a visit with their mother. Defense attorneys have disputed that the shooting was a hate crime motivated by anti-LGBT hatred.
Among the exhibits are a photograph of Aldrich’s driver’s license, which was found in the club’s parking lot following the bloodshed. Also included is a copy of a receipt from a visit Aldrich made to Club Q roughly three weeks earlier, when they were waited on by one of their eventual victims, Derrick Rump.
Investigators said Aldrich planned to livestream the killing spree, revealing in court that investigators had discovered Aldrich’s cell phone duct taped to a baseball hat in their vehicle.
Aldrich’s defense attorney, Joseph Archambault, submitted as evidence pictures of various prescription medications Aldrich had been prescribed, along with photos of torn aluminum foil from their SUV he suggested shows evidence of drug use. The medications Aldrich had been prescribed were intended to treat, among other things, schizophrenia, psychosis, and bipolar disorder, in addition to suboxone, a drug that helps opioid users kick the habit.
Other exhibits showed Aldrich entering Club Q on the night of the shooting, caught on surveillance cameras, and the semi-automatic rifle and bloody body armor they allegedly left behind.
Aldrich’s vehicle was parked right by the front entrance to Club Q on the night of the senseless murders, according to police evidence. A bloodied rainbow suspender was also found outside.
In court on Wednesday, Det. Rebecca Joines of the Colorado Springs Police Department testified that Aldrich was the “creator and/or administrator” of a website called FreeSpeechTube.ru and had posted a “neo-Nazi white supremacist training-type video” of attacks on synagogues and mosques in Europe.
An associate of Aldrich’s told police that “Anderson expressed hatred towards the police and the LGBT community,” Joines said, noting also that Aldrich once shared a photo online of a rifle scope superimposed over a gay pride parade attendee.
Aldrich was born Nicholas Franklin Brink, and changed their name in 2016 to distance themselves from their father, according to court records. Their dad, former MMA fighter and porn actor Aaron Franklin Brink, has appeared in XXX films such as My MILF Boss 8, I Wanna Get Titty Fucked, and Latina Slut Academy.
Aldrich’s mom, Laura Voepel, is the daughter of California MAGA Republican Randy Voepel, who lost his state assembly seat last year.
If convicted at trial, Aldrich faces life in prison. Colorado abolished the death penalty in 2020.
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